You’re Such a Peach!

It’s time for Peaches again! Fresh, juicy, lean over the sink to eat them kind of Peaches.

We prefer the Colorado ones, and they are coming to Kansas soon.  We order 3 big boxes every year, 1 1/2 for the kids to eat in various states of up-to-their-elbows stickiness, the other 1 1/2 to put in the freezer for the long, cold Kansas winter.  Did you know that if you freeze fresh ripe peaches whole in gallon freezer bags, (single layer, maybe 12 per) later you can bring them out frozen, run them under a hot tap and VIOLA! the peel just falls off.  Let them thaw a bit, and slice them up for a fresh taste of summer.  Easy smeasy!

  In going with the “Peach Theme”, I have 2 recipes to share with you today. One that uses canned Peaches (gasp! I know, I know, but they have their place in the world too), the other….ripe, juicy, make your whole house smell good, fresh ones!  Also, very fitting for this time of year:

One reminds me of summer, the other? Fall.

  For those of you who missed it, this summer I shared a Mexican Chicken Salad with Chili Lime Dressing and this recipe over at my friend, Brandie’s blog: The Country Cook. 

  I decided this Peaches & Cream Torte needed to have a place on my blog as well, for easy future reference since I WILL be making it again.

  Oh my goodness, do you know how some desserts just scream SUMMER!?

  Well, this is one of them!  Light, fresh, cold, airy, fluffy and oh-so delicious.

  The texture will surprise you I think, I was expecting a bit more of a heavy cream cheese base, but man, you put this in your mouth and it just melts away.  Comes together quickly, looks pretty and tastes like summer should!

PEACHES & CREAM TORTE

Crust

• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, melted

Filling

• 1 can (29 oz.) sliced peaches
• 1 1/4 cup sugar, divided
• 2 T. cornstarch
• 8 oz. cream cheese
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream

   In a small bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and brown sugar.  Stir in butter. Set aside 1/4 cup topping.  Press remaining crumb mixture onto the bottom and 1 inch up the sides of a greased 9 inch Springform pan.

  Place pan on a baking sheet.  Bake at  350* for 10 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack.

Drain peaches, reserving syrup in a 2 cup measuring cup.  Add enough water to measure 1 1/2 cups. 

  In a large saucepan, combine 1/4 cup sugar and cornstarch;  stir in syrup mixture until smooth.  Add peaches.  Bering to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.  Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally. 

  Meanwhile, in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and remaining sugar until smooth.  In a small bowl, beat cream until stiff peaks form, fold into cream cheese mixture.

  Spread half the cream cheese mixture over the crust.  Top with half the peach mixture, repeat layers.  Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture.  Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.  Remove sides of pan just before slicing.

  Serves 12.

Enjoy this decadent, creamy, fresh tasting piece of Summer before it leaves us for Fall!!!!! (oh my goodness, I need to get some sleep, I just totally cracked myself up right there.) 

  Speaking of cracking up, this next recipe is going to leave you scratching your head and muttering to yourself….it’s called PEACH PUZZLE.

  Dale’s Aunt Lucy made this for us after we had Paxton last summer, along with some AWESOME Chicken Pot Pies that I WILL be making again soon.

Here is the Puzzle about Peach puzzle:  This “Magic” recipe includes placing a ramekin bowl upside down in the center of a pie plate. Peeled peaches are arranged around the ramekin and drizzled with a mixture of brown sugar, butter, and vanilla. Buttery biscuit dough is domed over the peaches, and then the Peach Puzzle goes into the oven.   NOW, get this!!!!!!

Once cooled, the pie plate is flipped over (quickly!) to reveal tender peaches nestled into the flaky biscuit—and a caramel-like sauce in the ramekin.

WHAT?!?!?!?!

How does the sugary sauce end up in the bowl? It’s just sitting there, ready to drizzle over your Peach Puzzle & Ice cream.  Look again:

Oh. My. Word.   Incredible! 

Peach Puzzle

Peaches and Syrup

• 7 medium peaches, peeled 
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 6 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Dough

• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon  baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces and chilled
• 6 tablespoons milk

Directions:

1. For the peaches and syrup: Adjust an oven rack to the middle
   position and heat the oven to 400°F
2. Place a 6-ounce custard cup or ramekin upside down in the center
   of a 9-inch pie plate and arrange the peaches around the custard cup.
3. Combine the brown sugar, water, butter, vanilla, and salt in a
   medium saucepan and stir over medium heat until the sugar dissolves and the
   butter melts, about 5 minutes.
4. Pour the syrup over the peaches.
5. For the dough: Pulse the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in
   a food processor until blended. (If you don’t have a food processor grate your butter and do this by hand until you get a coarse crumbly dough.)
6. Add the butter and pulse until the flour mixture is pale yellow
   and resembles course cornmeal.
7. Put the mixture into a medium bowl.
8. Using a rubber spatula, fold the milk into the flour mixture,
   pressing the mixture against the sides of the bowl to form the dough.
9. Squeeze the dough together and flatten into a disk.
10. On a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough into a 9-inch
    circle.
11. Lay the dough directly over the peaches and press and fit the
    dough so that it fits snuggly around peaches. (The dough will stretch as you fit
    it around the peaches, but do not attach the dough to the pie plate.).
12. Bake until the top is golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.
13. Transfer the pan to a rack and let cool for 30 minutes.
14. Place a large rimmed serving plate over the top of the pie plate
     and quickly invert the puzzle onto a plate.
15. Cut into wedges around each peach and serve, pouring syrup over
    each portion.
16. Prepare to be AMAZED!
    Read more: http://www.food.com/recipe/peach-puzzle-a-magic-recipe-234965#ixzz1VZRWduOW

Note: Since this dish is all about the peaches, save it for when fresh local peaches are in season. And it is important to choose peaches that are neither very ripe nor rock-hard — they should give a little when squeezed. 

  Soooo, I didn’t snap a photo of this last recipe….Hello! I just had a baby and no blog at the time, so I used this one from: http://www.cookscountry.com/recipes/detail/8301  Gotta give credit where credit is due! 🙂

 Happy Baking!!

~T

 

This post linked to:

Gooseberry Patch Recipe Round Up